


All That Remains

by Fenchurch87



Series: Tales of Kirkwall (and Beyond) [8]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Family Feels, Gen, Grief/Mourning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-16 18:28:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15443163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fenchurch87/pseuds/Fenchurch87
Summary: Marian Hawke confronts Quentin. Originally written in response to a writing prompt on /r/dragonage.





	All That Remains

_There he is._ Marian Hawke strode into the room, her eyes glued to the back of the man's head, her hands balled into fists at her sides. _It's time to finish this._

“I was wondering when you'd show up.” The man turned around and smiled at her. Hawke shivered. She was looking into the face of a madman. “Leandra was so sure you'd come for her.”

“Where is my mother?” She was surprised by how calm her voice sounded. It gave away nothing of the anger and panic she was feeling inside.

“You will never understand my purpose.” He walked towards her, still grinning. “I chose your mother because she was special, and now she is part of something greater.”

“I don't care about your something greater. Where is she?”

He laughed. “She's right here. Waiting for you.” He turned away and moved to stand beside a high-backed chair in the middle of the room. “Do you know what the strongest force in the universe is?” He didn't wait for her to answer. “Love. I pieced her together from memory. I found her eyes, her skin, her delicate fingers. And at last, her face. Her beautiful face.”

The chair moved backwards and somebody stood up, slowly turning to face her. _No!_ The thing had her mother's face, but there was no colour in her cheeks, no life in her eyes. The rest of her was all wrong, and Hawke almost screamed when she realised why. He had sewn her mother's head on to another woman's body! Her stomach roiled, and she had to swallow hard several times to stop her breakfast coming back up.

She turned back to the madman, and her calm shattered into a thousand pieces. “You killed my mother, you twisted piece of shit!” A wave of force magic lifted him into the air and threw him against the wall at the far end of the room.

She advanced on him, lifting him up again and slamming him into the wall a second time. “Ogre fucker!”

_Slam!_ “You sick arsehole!”

_Slam!_ “You demon worshipping cu–”

“You can stop now, Hawke.” Varric laid a gentle hand on her arm. “I think he's dead.”

Aveline appeared on her other side, and she let her friends lead her away from the blood mage's broken body. The thing with her mother's face was lying on the floor.

“I'm sorry, Hawke.” Merrill sounded close to tears. “His magic was keeping her alive. There's nothing anyone can do.”

“Marian...”

“Mother?” She knelt on the ground and took Leandra's hand in both of her own.

“I knew you would come,” her mother whispered.

“I was too late. I'm sorry.”

“Don't fret, darling. You did your best. Just like you always do.”

_Yes. And my best is never good enough._

Her mother clasped her hands tightly. “I'm so proud of the woman you've grown into.”

“That was your doing. And Father's”

Leandra smiled sadly. “Mostly your father's, I think. You have far more of him in you.” She sighed. “I know I wasn't the best mother to you. I'm sorry.”

“Don't say that, Mother.”

“It's true. But I've always loved you, Marian. I need you to know that.”

“And I've always loved you.”

“Your father would be proud of you too, if he could see you now.” Her mother's eyes closed. “So... proud...”

Her mother was gone. She remained on the ground for several minutes, feeling a cold hand closing around her heart. _I'm so sorry, Mother. I failed you._ That was all she ever did, it seemed. Fail the people she cared about. _Will Anders be next?_ she wondered. Would the Templars storm the clinic one day when she wasn't there? Too many for him to fight, even with Justice's help? Or would it be Varric? Or Aveline? She stood up and started walking towards the door.

“Hawke.” Merrill caught up with her and awkwardly tried to put her arms around her. “I'm really–”

“Leave me.” She pushed her away. Merrill jumped backwards as though she'd been slapped.

Aveline tried next. “Hawke–”

“I said leave me!” She rounded on her three friends, glaring at each of them in turn. Varric opened his mouth, but appeared to think better of it when he saw her eyes.

She turned away and continued walking. She could hear her friends whispering behind her, but she ignored them. She would send everyone away later, even Anders. Especially Anders. _They'll thank me in the end,_ she thought. _Nobody's safe around me. They have to leave before it's too late. Before I go and fail them too._

 


End file.
